On This Day In History . 8th February 1587 . Mary Queen of Scots was executed (part 2.) . . ā¼ Mary was not beheaded with a single strike. The first blow missed her neck & struck the back of her head. The second blow severed the neck, except for a small bit of sinew, which the executioner cut through using the axe. Afterward, he held her head aloft & declared, "God save the Queen." . āŖ At that moment, the auburn tresses in his hand turned out to be a wig & the head fell to the ground, revealing that Mary had very short, grey hair. . āŖ A small dog owned by the queen, a Skye terrier, is said to have been hiding among her skirts, unseen by the spectators. Following the beheading, it refused to be parted from its owner's body & was covered in her blood, until it was forcibly taken away & washed. . ā¼ Items supposedly worn or carried by Mary at her execution are of doubtful provenance; contemporary accounts state that all her clothing, the block, & everything touched by her blood was burnt in the fireplace of the Great Hall to obstruct relic-hunters. . . . #OnThisDayInHistory #ThisDayInHistory #TheYear1587 #MaryQueenofScots #TheQueenofScots #Scotland #QueenofScots #MaryStuart #HouseofStuart #History #ScottishMonarchy #BritishMonarchy #D8Feb (at Fotheringhay Castle) https://www.instagram.com/p/Btn79XiFWxJ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=vohjekc5l7d5
